Justin pushed through the crowd outside and pulled Shai's hand until she got inside the limo before him. When she was seated inside, he hopped in and sat down beside her. "This has been one hell of a night."
Shai felt bad for him and she felt anger towards Lauren, but she also wanted to laugh and scream at the world that Lauren was no longer a part of his life. Pushing them to dance was the opportunity of a lifetime because she saw that they couldn't stand to be around each other, much less actually touch. Justin had appeared to be disgusted with her and that's exactly what she had dreamed of for so long. Lauren had had her time in Justin's life, and now it was someone else's turn.
There was a blank spot, a void in his life, and she was more than ready and willing to fill that particular space. "Is there anything I can do?"
"You have done enough. You were there when I needed you and you helped me see that she's even worse than I ever thought she could be. Did you see how she hung all over Tristan? Did you see how she stood up for him?"
"It was pathetic."
He looked out the window as the car pulled away from the building and headed down the drive. "I wasted so many years…so many years."
She scooted over on the seat until she could lean her head against his shoulder. "I'm glad you wanted to leave because I hated having to watch you hurt like that. Where do you want to go? I know there are a few parties around and…"
He turned and gave her a serious look. "My place."
If she was excited before, she was ready to faint now. "Your place?"
"If you don't want to go then I can tell the driver to drop you off and…"
"Oh no. No, if you want me to be with you and come home with you then…that's fine, Justin." Her thoughts were filled with images of dreams she had had for so long. Going back to his house was exactly where she wanted to go, and she felt like pinching herself to make sure that this wasn't all a dream.
It was definitely a few fantasies of hers, but this time she knew that the reality of it would beat any dream she'd ever had.
He was quiet for a while and she knew that he must be nervous and unsure about what this meant to both of them. There was nothing quite like a vulnerable man, a vulnerable drop dead gorgeous man, to make her protective side come out. Her hand rubbed back and forth against his thigh and she smiled softly when he shifted a few times. "Don't be scared."
His eyes closed and he swallowed hard. "I…I'm not scared."
"You're so tense, but you don't have to be. I'll take care of you, Justin."
That was exactly what he was afraid of, but the thing he was most afraid of was what she was capable of once things really started getting out of hand. She was a tease, a good one, but he also knew that she was more than a sure thing. Ever since the first time he had met her he had known that she could be in his bed with just a simple word, but that thought didn't comfort him at a time like this. He had so many things going on inside his head that he didn't know whether to be angry that she was that way, or just plain thankful because it would make things easier.
He leaned forward to reach for the bottle of champagne that was in the small fridge of the car, and paused when he realized where her hand was. "Shai…don't get your hopes up too high. We're just going back to talk."
She kissed his shoulder and pulled her hand back. "Why talk when there are other ways, more creative ways, to forget the pain?"
He snatched the bottle out and grabbed two glasses. "I don't normally drink but tonight wasn't a normal night. Would you like a glass?"
"I don't drink."
That declaration made his heart race and his spirits fall. "One glass won't hurt."
She pushed the glass away when he tried to hand it to her. "Really, I don't drink."
Think fast, think fast, think VERY fast, he thought. "I want to make a toast."
"A toast?"
He nodded slowly and looked into her eyes as he whispered. "A toast to a new beginning and a release from the past."
She slowly reached out to grab the glass and clink it against his. "To a new beginning." Her eyes watched him carefully over the rim of the glass as she took a long swallow, and it was hard for her to get over just how beautiful he was. And here she was, sitting beside him and toasting to a new life. Toasting to her new life WITH him.
After he took another sip, his head tilted and lowered until his lips carefully touched hers. She knew he was dangerous, but kissing him and tasting the champagne on his lips was almost more than she could stand. Her free hand slid up his arm and over his chest while she deepened the contact and pulled him closer.
Justin pulled back when he felt her mouth open a little, and he poured some more champagne in her glass. Shai shook her head to stop him, but by the time her head cleared, it was already poured. "I don't really think I should."
"The night is young, we're young, and this is a special occasion. This toast should be about you."
She actually blushed and covered her cheek with her hand when she felt the warmth of her skin. "About me? Why would we toast about me?"
He wanted as much alcohol as he could get to help clean out his mouth and lips. "How about, a toast for how far you've come."
She reached out to touch her glass against his again and then surprised him by downing almost all of the glass in one swallow. "Cheers."
"For someone who doesn't drink, you do it well."
She put the glass aside and he almost slapped himself for being so stupid. "That's all I'm going to drink though. I want to remember every part of this night."
"I have a feeling that this is going to be a night that you never forget." And he really meant that, just not in the way she was thinking.
A few minutes and a lot of kisses later, they were at his house and Justin was unlocking the door. Shai waited until he turned off the alarm system and stepped into the foyer in awe. "I can't believe how beautiful this is."
"It's simple, but I'm never home to have it decorated."
She spun around and smiled at the chandelier above her. "I could decorate it for you. I see you like white, but there's so much you could do with that."
He threw his keys on one of the end tables and shrugged his coat off. "I'm not that worried about it."
"What are you worried about then?"
That question hit him hard and he didn't know where to begin. "I'm worried about decisions I've made…decisions I'm making."
She walked to him and kissed along his jaw. "You don't have to be scared anymore."
"Have…have…you haven't seen my house, have you?"
She pulled back and gave him a strange look. "No, the last time I was here was when Lauren tried to pull all my hair out. One more reason why she doesn't deserve a guy as wonderful as you are. How did you put up with all her mood swings?"
He thought her attitude was adorable, and always would. "She uh…we're not going to talk about Lauren, are we?"
"No we're not. She kills the mood and I don't want to do a lot of talking of any kind."
His eyes widened a little and he pulled on her hand until they were in the kitchen. "How about a little tour? This is the kitchen, the pool is out there, there are two staircases that go upstairs to the…the…"
"The bedrooms?"
He pulled her out of the kitchen and ignored her question. "Down that hall is the study and the mini recording studio I'm trying to set up. There's the dining room and of course the entertainment room."
She lifted his hand and bit down on one of his fingers. "What kind of entertainment?"
This was getting ugly fast. "How about another drink?"
"I didn't know you drank so much, Justin."
It wasn't that he was a drinker, but that he needed to get as much of the liquid inside of her as he could. There wasn't a lot of time, and if she didn't drink it he was going to have to go to plan B. That plan was a dangerous one, it was a terrible one, and it would weigh heavily on his conscience if he had to shatter a few morals to get down to that level.
"I'm on edge and I've always found that alcohol calms me down a little bit."
"Whatever works, but you shouldn't be so nervous. It's just me."
That was what he was afraid of. "What would you like?"
"You."
He tore his fingers away from hers and walked quickly into the kitchen. On his way there he tried to get his head clear and his thoughts organized. It wasn't that he was completely inexperienced or terrified of intimacy, but he was just so disgusted by her, by her display of need, and by her lack of self-respect that he wasn't sure how much he was going to be able to act his way through. There WAS a limit to his talent.
He quickly poured water into one shot glass and filled the other one with Vodka. Shai slinked around the corner as he was putting the bottle back up in the cabinet. "Are you running from me?"
He chuckled and reached high to put the bottle back in place. "I'm not running."
As she walked towards him, she watched as he stretched his long body out to put the bottle back into the cabinet, and her eyes were drawn to the way his dress shirt had lifted slightly to expose a strip of his stomach. Her fingers itched to touch him and there was no hesitation when she slid her hands around his trim waist and flattened her palms against him.
Justin froze in mid-reach and looked down his torso. "Uh…Shai?"
She rubbed her palms against the soft hair that started below his belly button and pushed her fingertips underneath the waistband of his pants. "Who else would it be?"
He turned quickly in her arms and leaned back against the counter. "You don't waste any time, do you?"
"Not if I can help it. I've been waiting too long for this."
He looked over her head at the clock on the oven and saw that he still had an hour before Lauren would be there. It seemed like five years. "Why don't we grab our drinks and go watch TV for a little while?"
For a second it looked like she wasn't going to move, but finally her hands came away from him and he breathed a sigh of relief when she turned to walk out of the kitchen towards the entertainment room. Justin grabbed the shot of water in his right hand and her drink in his left before following down the hall. The hallway seemed to stretch forever as he slowly walked behind her, and the creak of the door made him jump.
Shai kicked off her shoes and got comfortable on the couch after he sat down. "This is a beautiful house."
"I wish I could be here more often to enjoy it." He held out the glass to her and waited for her to take it.
She stared at it and finally whined. "I really don't want it. I feel a little queasy after that little bit of champagne in the car."
"Then I guess you don't want anymore champagne. I put a bottle in the refrigerator in here for tonight."
Her jaw dropped and she took the glass from him. "You little devil. You knew you were bringing me back here all along and you never said a word."
"That would have spoiled all…my…plans." He raised his glass and downed the water in one gulp while she struggled to do the same with the alcohol.
Her eyes were burning and she put the glass down as she coughed. "That's some harsh stuff."
Just as he was about to say something, she jumped off the couch and pulled him up to stand in front of her. "Dance with me, Justin."
"What do you want to dance to?"
She chewed on her lip and gave him a very childlike look. "I don't know, you silly thing. It's your house so what do you have?"
"The CDs are over there and…"
She pulled one out and put it into the CD player. A few seconds later, Marvin Gaye's voice filled the room and he closed his eyes when she turned to give him a look he understood more than he should. "Oh dear God."
She took her time walking towards him, her eyes sized him up, explored him, and she shrugged off her mesh jacket to reveal her sleeveless top. "Dance with me, Justin."
"I've dance enough already and…" His words ended when she pulled him to her and crushed their bodies together.
"You can never dance too much. Not like this anyway."
The way she was grinding against him and pulling at him was enough to raise anyone's temperature a few degrees, but he felt nothing but anger and resentment. She didn't have the ability to get him hot and she wasn't going to start now. "Shai, maybe we should slow things down a bit."
She reached up, dug her fingers into his hair, and yanked his head down. He was too surprised by her movement to respond to her kiss right away, but she was doing enough responding for the both of them. Her lips were basically gnawing at his, her hips slid up and down against his, and she clung to him to the point that he had to fight to keep his balance.
He reached up and tried to pull her fingers from his hair, but she held on tight. "Shai…we have…we have plenty of time. Slow…slow down."
He shuddered when he felt the tip of her tongue run along the inside of his bottom lip and she pulled back with the pleasure of knowing that she had made him weak. "Don't hold back, baby. Nothing you do is going to offend me."
Did guys really enjoy being seduced this way and/or dominated by a woman in this fashion? Maybe he was more inexperienced than he thought or had too many morals because this just wasn't doing anything for him at all. "Can we sit down and cool off?"
She giggled and hiccuped before falling against him. "OOH…cool off in the pool? I don't have a bathing suit here but we won't need one."
He pulled his head back when she yanked on his neck and tried to nibble on his ear. "We're not going swimming. Shai, are you drunk?"
"I don't think so. I don't think I am. Wait, did I say that already? No, I'm not drunk. YOU have made me lightheaded."
It was unbelievable that she would be drunk from two glasses of champagne and a shot of vodka. It was unbelievable and it was impossible, but he still hoped that she was getting there because the small white pill in his pocket weighed heavily on his heart and his conscience, and he wasn't sure that he would be able to use it just to prove a point. "Why don't we sit down?"
"Why don't we get some of your clothes off?"
After basically tossing her onto the couch, he sat down and grabbed her shoulders to force her to look at him. "Shai, you need to listen to me. When I brought you here, it wasn't to tear your clothes off and get it on like Marvin just sang."
"You're playing hard to get. I like that." She climbed up on his lap and started kissing him again as she held his head in place so he couldn't turn away.
Justin could barely breathe and he pushed against her hips to stop her from grinding against him. "Stop!"
She let go of him as he pushed and went toppling off onto the floor. He rolled his eyes and looked down at her. "I hope this isn't normal behavior for you."
Instead of climbing back up on his lap, she crawled around the side of the sofa and over to the refrigerator to grab the bottle of champagne. "Let's make another toast."
"I thought you didn't want anymore."
She struggled with the top and finally managed to get it open. It spurted out the top and all over his carpet. "It's an eruption!"
His head slammed back against the couch with a groan. "I don't believe this. I seriously don't believe this."
She drank right from the bottle and smiled at him. "Do you want some? Come on Justin, lighten up and loosen up." She walked back over to the couch, sat down beside him, and pushed the bottle up to his lips. "Come on, just a little bit."
He pushed it away. "I don't want any."
"Somebody is mad. Here you go."
He pushed it away again and was surprised to see anger enter her eyes. Anger and something scarier…a predatory look. "I think I've had enough."
Her lip curled a little and her eyes narrowed on him. "I've had enough too and what exactly are you trying to do?"
"What…what do you mean? I'm not trying to do anything."
"You bring me here, you try to get me drunk, you kiss me, and now you're leading me on. What are you DOING?"
Had she caught onto his game here? He wondered if he had somehow slipped and if she was cleverer than he had thought she was. "I'm not doing anything to you, Shai."
"That's EXACTLY my point. Playing hard to get is cute for a little while, but it's not cute anymore. You brought me here for a reason, you kissed me for a reason, you wanted me for a reason, and I'm not going to play around anymore."
He scooted back away from her and watched her carefully. "What do you mean?"
She crawled over him and stared down into his shocked eyes. "I'm sick of waiting, Justin. I think I've waited long enough."
He didn't know when she moved, but suddenly she seemed to be all over him. Her hands were everywhere, her lips swallowed his over and over again, and she seemed to be fifty times stronger than she had been before. He tried to push her back without hurting her, but being a gentleman was getting him into trouble because she wasn't about to let go. She pinned his arms down, straddled his waist, and he ended up stretched out across the length of the sofa underneath her.
She tore at his lips, she bit, she tried to open his mouth wider with her own, and her fingers tore at the buttons of his shirt. When she pulled her lips away from him for a second to catch her breath, he pushed against her but her legs tightened around his waist and she didn't budge this time. "Shai, get off of me. Stop this and get off."
"That's exactly what I'm doing, Justin." She tore at his shirt again and he grabbed at her hands to stop her but she yanked hard and buttons flew everywhere as the fabric finally parted violently.
Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, icy cold liquid hit him in the face and down over his chest. When he got over the shock of it, he saw that she had taken the champagne and had poured it all over him. She tossed the bottle aside and ran her tongue up and down the side of his neck and over to his throat where it had puddled at the hollow there.
He still tried to reason with her, but he realized that she was beyond reason when she kissed down his chest and started to make a meal out of his stomach. His fingers dug into her hair and he pulled hard to get her away from him. "I'm not into this at all."
She stared at him and licked her lips. "You just don't want to admit that you are."
Everything inside of him was screaming out that this was wrong…that SHE was wrong. "Let go of me and stand up."
An evil smile slowly spread across her face and he didn't like that look at all. He waited to see what she was going to do next, and he didn't expect for her to lean down again and bite his chest. He pushed with his legs and tried to scoot away from her but she held on and moved with him.
Finally he managed to get her teeth off of him and he pushed back until he was against the armrest of the couch. As she continued to pull at him, he curved his back over the armrest and tried to escape her that way. He reached back to balance himself on the carpet and hopefully pull the rest of his body over the hump, but he froze in shock when he felt her pulling and fumbling with his belt and the buttons on his pants.
He pushed against the cushions as hard as he could and the rest of his body came off of the couch before she could get his pants unfastened all the way. "You are crazy!"
She peered down over the armrest at him. "You're so damn FINE when you look like that. How do you stand it?"
He scooted back with his hands when she stood up and started walking towards him. "Shai…I'm trying my best not to manhandle you but you're really pushing it here."
There was determination on her face as she continued to walk forward and watched him stand up. "I don't bruise easily. Hurt me if you have to."
He backed up against the wall and held her back with a hand. "I've had enough."
"You've been asking for this for a long time."
"I've been asking for it? WHAT have I been asking for, Shai? Rape?"
She laughed and suddenly kicked his legs out from under him. He slammed onto the floor and she fell with him. "This."
He groaned and gripped his head where it had slammed against the wall on the way down. "Assault?"
When she leaned over him this time, he gripped her arms and was ready to throw her aside, but she had a funny look in her eyes this time. She didn't look quite like she should and he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
She touched his lips and slowly grinned. "Pretend I'm Lauren if you have to."
The mention of her name, the mention of her name in that context made his stomach turn and almost fold in half. His heart certainly shattered in a few million pieces. He had been degraded enough, he had been humiliated enough, and that was the last straw. "Get…off…of…me."
She didn't move for a second, and suddenly her head fell forward and she was lax in his arms. Justin laid there for a moment and waited for her to attack or try to take him off guard, but she was getting heavier and heavier as her body relaxed against him. "I don't believe this."
There was a soft knock on the frame of the door followed by Lauren's whisper that was so soft and so beautiful that it warmed his ears. "Justin, are you in here?"
He pushed Shai off of him and she landed flat on her back beside him, passed out cold. "I'm over here on the floor behind the chair."
Lauren took in the mad state of the room and carefully padded across the room to where he said he was. "Should I be ready to fight?"
"It's fine."
She wasn't sure if she was ready to see him or Shai, but nothing could have prepared her for the sight that met her eyes when she walked around that chair. Justin was laying flat on his back with his hands over his face, his shirt was torn almost to shreds, his belt was ripped at, his pants were halfway unfastened, and there were scratches and what looked like bites all over his chest.
"My God, what happened?"
His hands didn't move from his face. "What didn't?"
She looked through the red haze of anger that was clouding her eyes over at Shai who was sprawled out on the floor beside him. "Is she dead?"
"That would be asking too much of God's good fortune. She's not dead because creatures like her live forever."
It took every bit of strength Lauren had not to choke the life out of Shai as she reached out and checked her neck for a pulse. "Her heartbeat is pretty steady. Did you…did you give her that pill?"
His head moved back and forth against the carpet. "I didn't have to. The girl has zero tolerance for alcohol and can you believe that two glasses of champagne and a shot of vodka caused that?"
She shoved Shai's head aside and it crashed against the leg of the table beside her. It was a small and simple pleasure, but it was a joy nonetheless. On her hands and knees she crawled over to Justin and kneeled beside him before reaching out to gently touch his arm. "Justin?"
His hands came away from his face but his eyes remained closed. "Get her out of here, Lauren."
Her fingers tightened around his as she turned to yell. "Tristan, you can come in now!"
She helped Justin sit up and pull his shirt together before Tristan came around the corner. He took one look at the room before whistling softly. "Looks like a bomb went off in here."
"DON'T give me any ideas, Tristan. Will you help me move her while Justin…"
He shook his head and stood up. "I'm not staying in this room anymore. I can't stay in here."
Lauren was pulled along behind him and she gave Tristan a look on her way out the door. "Stay here with her and yell if she starts to wake up. We'll be right back."
Justin was walking so fast that she had a hard time keeping up with him, and he didn't stop until he was up in his room and slammed the door behind him. He just stood there with his back to her and his fingers still entwined with hers, and she prayed for the strength not to go downstairs and beat Shai within an inch of her life. She had kept her emotions and her anger in check downstairs, but there was a nagging feeling that he was about to make her hate Shai even more than she already did.
"Justin…"
He pulled his hand out of hers and she watched as he tore at his clothes. He ripped his shirt off, ripped his pants, and disappeared into the bathroom before she could find the words to stop him. She listened as the shower turned on and while he was in there she gathered up some things for him to change into, put them on the counter in the bathroom, and busied herself with picking up the clothing he had strewn around the room.
All she could think about were the lengths he had gone to tonight and what he had sacrificed to assure that they could be together. Yeah there was an element of revenge that he undoubtedly embraced, but the core of his behavior was to make sure that he could love her the way he wanted to. She thought about that, she thought about the love he showed her, she thought about the way he looked laying on that floor, and then she thought about how badly she could hurt Shai at this very moment as she laid unconscious on the floor and unable to fight back.
She was sitting on the bed trying to calm her anger a little while later when the bathroom door opened and Justin slowly walked out. He stared down at his hands as he finished tying the string on his scrub pants. "Thank you for getting me some clothes."
"Those were the only things I could find."
"It's fine. This stupid thing won't tie straight and…dammit."
She saw that his hands were shaking so she pushed off the bed and walked over to push his hands away and tie the laces herself. His eyes were on her, she could feel them, and she tried her best not to look up at his bare chest where she had seen bite marks and scratches earlier. "I'm trying so hard."
He cleared his throat and whispered. "To do what?"
"I'm trying so hard to resist going down there and hurting her to the point where she can't remember who we even are."
She made the mistake of looking up and seeing a bite on his stomach. He knew where she was looking and he touched the side of her face softly. "It's over."
Her palm flattened against his stomach and she felt his muscles contract underneath her hand. "Are you reassuring me…or yourself?"
He pushed his wet hair back and tried to smile, but it didn't work. "Both I guess. All I know is that I don't want to go through something like that again. I can't do it again."
She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck and she was surprised by how tightly he held her against him. He was still trembling and still unwilling to talk for the most part, but she figured that the best way to help him was to hold him and let him know that everything was going to eventually work out.
"Justin, this time tomorrow and you'll never have to look at her again."
He buried his face in her hair and hugged her even tighter. His voice was hoarse and broken when he finally whispered against her neck. "Her hands were everywhere and I thought it couldn't get any worse, but it did. It got worse and worse and I thought maybe if I waited just a little bit longer she would realize what she was doing, but she didn't."
Lauren touched his damp hair and lightly kissed his ear. "You will never have to do anything like this again."
He pulled back and looked down at her as his fingers caressed her face. "I'd do it all again if I had to. If it meant that I get to protect you and…and love you, I'd do it again."
"You won't have to."
At first he looked hesitant, but finally he leaned down and touched his lips to hers. It was like a burst of sunlight hit him the moment his lips met hers, and she made him feel clean and whole again. Piece by piece, she chipped away the memories of what had happened downstairs, what he had risked, and what he had given up.
His thumb pushed down on her chin to open her mouth wider and he took full advantage of the access. They were both unaware that they were moving and Lauren was more than surprised when the back of her legs hit his bed. With their lips still connected, he picked her up into his arms and fell back onto the mattress with her. She leaned into him, touched the scratches on his chest, and finally pulled back to kiss down the length of a long scratch that ran down his neck.
His breathing deepened, his heart was racing, and love for her flowed through every fiber that made him the person he was.
When she kissed him again, he pulled her leg over his waist, and kissed down her neck and over her shoulder before resting his head against the bed and looking at her. He couldn't remember a time when the sight of her made her breathless and speechless like he was right then. There were no words that could describe what she meant to him or what she brought to his life.
She touched his cheek and her fingertips ran over his jaw. "Why did you stop?"
"I figure that any minute now Tristan is going to knock on the door, and this isn't the time or place to get carried away."
She kissed him softly and nuzzled his nose with hers. "Do you want me to stay here tonight?"
He touched her hair and his eyes roamed over every detail of her face. "Not tonight. There's still so much to do and…and I…"
"Shh…you don't have to explain. It has been a really long night."
There was a knock on the door and they both started giggling. Justin sat up and pulled on a T-shirt while Lauren opened the door for Tristan. "What is it?"
"I think she's starting to wake up."
"Why don't you two talk for a little bit while I go downstairs and clean up."
Justin grabbed a pair of socks and sat on the edge of the bed. "NOT a good idea. I know what you're up to."
"You have no clue and I'm not going to touch the girl. The mess needs to be cleaned up before everything is ruined."
She could hear the deep rumble of their voices as she came downstairs and she hoped that they could work out their differences. Justin had no right to be jealous of Tristan, and Tristan had no right to be bitter about Justin. It would be nice to have both of them in her life, but that was left up to them for the time being. Only they could decide where to leave off or where to pick up from.
Tristan must have picked up a few things because the room didn't look as bad as it had when she had left it. Shai was no longer on the floor. He had moved her over to the other sofa and she was peacefully sleeping. Lauren hoped that she would have the hangover from hell, but overall her life was going to be one huge hangover after tonight.
She kneeled down beside the couch and took a good long look at Shai. Her eyes moved over her body, down her legs, and back up to her face. It was sad that people like Shai roamed the earth, it was sad to think of why such a beautiful girl could go so bad, but that was her choice and her life. She wasn't stupid, she certainly wasn't ugly, and instead of using her natural gifts in a productive way, she had fallen off the path somewhere along the way and here she was. Here she was on Justin Timberlake's couch, passed out, and at the mercy of someone who had absolutely no use for her at all.
Did she have a family somewhere who wondered about her and loved her? Did she have an overprotective father who sometimes called to check up and see if everything was going ok? Was she popular in high school or have a steady boyfriend that doted on her to the point where she expected that out of men? Girls like Shai were a mystery and since there weren't many people with her qualities…they were intriguing. They were such a complex and confusing mystery full of whys and why nots that you just had to ponder it and have it eat up thoughts from time to time so an understanding of human nature could somehow be understood a little better.
Her moment of semi-sympathy was over as she shook her head and tisked. "What I wouldn't give to tattoo the word 'ho-bag' on your forehead right now."
"Some other time."
She looked up and saw that both Justin and Tristan were standing in the doorway. She pushed up and smiled at them. "She's still out. Tristan, are you ready?"
He took a deep breath and shrugged. "As much as I'll ever be."
Justin shook his hand and smiled. "I know we're not exactly friends, but after everything you've done for Lauren and for me…maybe we could work to change that."
Tristan nodded in agreement. "I'd like that."
Lauren stepped back when Tristan walked over and slung Shai over his shoulder. He carried her outside and buckled her into his car while Lauren hung back and talked to Justin at the door. "Do you want me to call you later?"
"I think I just want to sleep and forget about everything that went down tonight. You know I'll talk to you about it as soon as I can, but right now I just want to be alone."
She reached up and gently kissed him a few times before squeezing both of his hands. "I love you, Justin."
"And I love you. Now get out of here and work your magic so you can get everything over to Miranda tonight."
He held onto her fingers until they pulled out of his hands as she backed away. "I'll see you at the arena tomorrow afternoon."
Justin leaned against the doorway and watched the car until it had pulled out of the drive and was completely out of sight. Never in his wildest dreams did he think things would go down this way, that Shai would react the way she did to him, or that he would feel as dirty or as saddened as he did at that moment. Truth be known, he had wanted Lauren to stay with him, but he also didn't want to dirty her with his mixed feelings. They both needed some time to sort through everything, and hopefully by the time he woke up tomorrow, the women in his life would have already made his evening from hell worth every bit of pain he felt at that moment.
He closed the door and sighed loudly as he walked up the stairs. "Come on Miranda, it's your turn to step up to the plate and hit a homerun."
Lauren beat her fist against the door even harder and covered her mouth when she yawned. "Come on, Miranda. It's only…midnight and I know you're still awake. MIRANDAAAAAAA!"
The bolts and the locks all came undone and the door finally opened. "I thought you were coming by around one?"
She stepped inside the door and shrugged. "I guess we're ahead of schedule."
Miranda looked out before closing the door. "Where is Tristan?"
"I told him to go home. He has had a very busy day and I know he wants to get as much sleep in his own bed as he can get."
"Very true." They walked through the apartment and into the living room.
Lauren's eyes widened when she saw the stacks of papers that lay on the dining room table, the couch, Miranda's desk, and the kitchen counter. "Tell me these aren't all contacts."
"I pulled out every file and every favor I was ever owed. I talked to most of them today and they're all drooling over this Shai and Justin crap. Most of the papers or magazines have already run articles about her or about her relationship with Justin. Basically, anything I have to tell them is like a dream come true."
"That's exactly what we need, Miranda. Their excitement and selfishness is what we need to pull this off."
She looked her over and finally questioned. "How is Justin doing?"
"He's going to survive, but he had a scary night. I asked him if he wanted me to stay over there with him but he said no."
"You're going over there anyway, right?"
"Just as soon as I grab a few clothes at my house."
Miranda looked down at the envelope in Lauren's hand. "Is that it?"
She handed over the envelope and smiled. "Oh yes. This would be it."
"What exactly IS it?"
Lauren waited until she had opened it up and pulled out the contents. "That is enough to ruin any chance Shai had at Justin, enough to ruin any chance she had with the fans, enough to ruin any possible way Tom will work with Shai again, and enough to teach Mary Beth a lesson or two about how nasty photography can be when you play for the wrong team."
Miranda flipped it upside down and slowly grinned. "This is so positively evil, and so…frighteningly illegal."
"I give my consent so it's no longer illegal. However, that right there will rid us of Shai for good, and we won't even have to lift a finger."
She flipped the page and her head tilted as she looked over the next page. "And how do you manage that? You do realize that I'm faxing and sending all of this information anonymously, right?"
"I had no doubt."
Miranda sat down with the papers and chewed on her thumb. "So explain to me the message you're trying to get across here."
"What we have there are pictures of Shai hanging all over Tristan and even a few of her kissing him."
"You took the pictures?"
Lauren grinned and sat down beside her. "Guilty as charged."
"She looks really into this."
"We put some of Justin's cologne on Tristan and Shai was too drunk and dazed to realize that Tristan wasn't Justin. Needless to say, she got rather hot for the guy and the pictures were easy to take. It was hard getting both of their faces into the shot, but there are a few that clearly show it's Tristan and Shai…not Justin and Shai."
Miranda put the prints aside and turned to her. "The story?"
"Poor Justin has his heart broken when his new girl blatantly cheats on him with Tristan Hardsworth. Tristan went to Justin's house to pick up where the fight at the party left off, Shai leaves Justin's house with him for reasons unknown, they are seen going back to her apartment, and these pictures are taken. Justin is left heartbroken and shattered because he thought he could trust her, and she assured everyone at the party that she and Justin were loves who had crossed time and galaxies to be with each other. You can barf later."
"I'll remember that. Ok so we have a classic case of a popstar's so-called girlfriend cheating on him and getting caught. These pictures are proof and the fans hate her for it. This will be front page entertainment section everywhere and let's not forget about the Internet."
Lauren laughed and rubbed her hands together. "Scan the pictures for me and I'll make sure to post them at a few choice messageboards around the net. They'll circulate in no time."
"It scares me that you can be this devious."
"It's a gift."
Miranda leaned back and continued to chew on her finger. "Where does Tom and Mary Beth come in?"
"That's pretty simple. As far as everyone knows, those pictures were taken by Mary Beth. She's made a reputation for herself of getting the goods and sending hidden pictures to everyone around the world. Like Harrison said, her name shows up wherever pictures of Justin or Justin's personal life are mentioned. I want the tag on those pictures to have her name listed as the photographer."
Miranda sat straight up when she realized what was about to go down. "So you have Shai who is caught kissing Tristan, Mary Beth who sends the pictures everywhere even though she's supposed to be working for Tom, and a media frenzy to crucify Shai for hurting Justin this way."
"Let's not forget our dear Tom who will have his own frenzy when it comes to Shai because she'll no longer be marketable and after this…the fans will NEVER want her back with Justin. She will be taken out of commission and put into early retirement."
"And Mary Beth?"
Lauren couldn't help but grin evilly. "I don't think Tom will appreciate having Mary Beth stab him in the back this way. I mean, she was supposedly feeding him information and blackmail material, and then she stabs him in the back to publish pictures around the world that take Shai out of the equation and completely ruin ANY chance he had planned for her to be with Justin? Mary Beth is going to fry, Shai is going to fry, and Tom is going to bring them down while Justin and I sit back and watch all the fun take place."
Miranda's eyes widened when she thought about Tom hearing this, when she thought about how he would react to seeing Mary Beth's name listed, to seeing the actual pictures and realizing that his only two contacts were gone, and the thoughts brought a smile to her own face. "You two have done your homework."
"We've only started this fight."
And she had no reason not to believe that. She grabbed the pictures, walked over to her computer, and brought up her electronic address book. "I guess that settles it."
Lauren walked over and watched as Miranda quickly typed up a brief summary of what she had told her. It was perfect, the plan was perfect, it was all falling together, and this time tomorrow she would have front row seats to Tom bringing down two of his own.
"Ok, Miranda. It's time to change a few lives here."