The five guys stopped singing in the booth while the producer ran next door to get some notes. The topic that was running through all of their minds was Carly and what role she had in Justin’s life. Even Justin was wondering that same thing.
To him, she was just a bet. He kept telling that to himself often so it wouldn’t be forgotten. To tell the truth, he had been pleasantly surprised when he realized that there really was a very unique and sweet girl underneath the rough exterior. She was now considered a friend in his eyes, but she was nothing more than that, and never would be.
Carly was unlike any girl he had come across. She appeared frail, totally void of self-respect, and like every girl he knew he would NEVER find himself interested in. (Even as a friend.) Yet she had managed to bring something out in him. He felt a strong urge to protect her and help her blossom. There was a spunk and potential in her that intrigued him.
He always said that he wanted a woman like Maitlyn. One of those women, who could hold her own in any situation, could keep him in check, and yet challenge him and give him enough freedom to become a better person. Carly was probably as far away from Maitlyn as one person could get, yet she did challenge him in ways he never knew possible.
She’s not falling all over you, and that’s what you’re not used to. Get over it Timberlake.
“Earth to Justin, come in Justin.”
He snapped out of his daydream when Joey waved a hand in front of his face. “What? I’m listening.”
The four guys giggled and Joey continued. “Sure you were. That’s why you didn’t respond when we called you a waste of gel enhanced space. What’s up with you Justin? Me and Chris leave you for two weeks to go on vacation, and when we left you were the normal, hyper, annoying Justin Timberlake. Now we’re not really sure who you are. You seem deep man.”
Justin turned to look out into the lobby. He could see Maitlyn and Carly pause their conversation and turn to look at him. When he realized what was going on, he looked into the control booth. “Would you turn off the microphones for a second?”
When the guy signaled that they were off, Justin turned to face the guys. “The last two weeks have been really busy for me and I’m tired from all of it.”
JC laughed and patted him on the back. “I know exactly what you mean. I would love to get more sleep myself, but that’s the way our lives go right now.”
Justin shook his head and shrugged JC’s hands off his shoulders. “That’s not what I’m talking about JC. I’m drained in my head. I’ve had plenty of sleep.”
Lance grinned a little and folded his arms across his chest. “Maybe it’s the stress of recording the new album. Well, the thought of it anyway.”
Justin looked over at Lance and knew exactly what kind of grin Lance was giving him. It was an “I told you so” grin. “I don’t think that’s it at all, and I’m not THAT drained. Everything will be fine once we get into it. The hardest part is the beginning.”
Lance looked through the glass at Carly and nodded. “Yes I have to agree with that, the hardest part is beginning for you.”
Justin sighed when he recognized Lance’s double meaning. He was saying in a round about way that his troubles with Carly were only beginning. Even though he knew this was true, it wasn’t sinking in yet. And he refused to give up…he refused to let Carly down.
Chris followed Justin’s stare and decided that this was as good a time as any to ask the question he had been wondering about for days. “Now that we’re on the subject of troubles and the last few weeks, what’s up with you and Carly?”
Justin gave him a look of warning and Chris held up his hands to ward off an attack.
“Woah…wait a minute. I’m not saying that’s anything bad. She’s a sweet girl Justin, but totally…how can I put this nicely…she’s…well…”
Joey sighed and interrupted when Chris wouldn’t spit it out. “She ain’t your type Justin.”
Justin leaned his back against the glass and folded his arms across his chest while he stared at each one of them. “Who says I’m dating her or even remotely interested in possibly dating her?"
The four of them looked at each other and busted out laughing.
Joey composed himself first. “Come on Justin, we’re a little ignorant sometimes, but we’re not blind.”
Justin tightened his arms on his chest and looked at the floor. “I’m not interested in Carly at all. She’s just a friend, and I’m going to help her get a recording contract. You just wait and see.”
Chris’ eyes widened. “Wait a minute, I must have broken a few blood vessels in my ears when I was laughing at you. Did you say you were getting her a recording contract?”
Justin continued to look at his shoes as he nodded. “That’s what I said.”
Joey sat down in a chair because it was almost too much for him to comprehend. “So that would make you her…wait a minute…that would make you her…manager.”
The guys looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before busting out laughing again. Chris and Joey were laughing so hard they had to sit down on the floor.
“Oh now that’s just priceless. I mean come on Justin, JC or Lance I can see, but you?” Joey’s sentence stopped when he couldn’t control his laughter any more.
Maitlyn and Carly watched the boys in the booth and were totally confused by what was going on inside.
“Do you think they’re ok?”
Maitlyn smirked at Carly’s remark and shook her head. “Lord only knows what’s going on in there. Looks like Justin is pissed though so they must be picking on him.”
Carly looked at Justin’s back where he was leaned up against the glass and felt sorry for him. She knew exactly what it was like to be picked on all the time, but that was something she never thought Justin would have to endure. Were they all really as close as they appeared to be?
“I hope they don’t hurt his feelings. Nobody should have to have that done by their friends.”
Maitlyn giggled when she saw Chris and Joey getting into Justin’s face. “Oh don’t worry, it’s all teasing done in fun. They love that boy more than anything and would protect him with their lives. It’s just the drawbacks of being the baby of the group. I’m sure Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys gets it too. Justin is the king of jokes so don’t ever pity him. He gets his revenge and that’s always double anything they can dish out.”
Carly smiled a little when she thought of Justin’s revenge against Monica. It was one of the most amazing things she had ever seen. And he had done it all for her.
Maitlyn watched Carly stare at Justin and patted her hand. “He can hold his own, don’t you worry. In fact, I’m sure he’s about to make his move. What I wouldn’t pay to hear what’s going on in there.”
Justin pushed away from the glass and looked directly at his best friends. “Carly is a lot more talented that you know. Just wait until you hear her sing. She’s going to be something special…just you wait.”
The laughter ended when they saw the look of determination on his face. Even Chris had to admit that Justin looked pretty serious. “You’re really serious about this aren’t you?”
“WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP ASKING ME THAT? Is Maitlyn giving all of you classes on how to be my guardian? I’m dead serious, and Carly is more talented than anyone I’ve seen in a long time.” He knew it was a lie, but he had to defend himself…and her…somehow.
JC sat down on one of the stools and watched Justin closely. “You know we’ll support you in any decision you make. If you need our help in this just let us know. But I do have to agree with Joey, you look awfully tight with Carly. You’ve been defending her ever since you two met. So what’s up in that direction?”
Justin chewed on his bottom lip while shaking his head. “I don’t know how to make it any clearer. There’s nothing going on with Carly and me besides friendship. She’s just a friend. She’s pretty shy around strangers and I feel…protective of her if you really want to know.”
Chris sat down beside JC and understood exactly what Justin was saying. “So she’s not Britney.”
Justin’s head jerked up and there was fire in his eyes this time. “That’s not fair Chris. That’s not fair at all.” His voice was husky and low with anger.
Chris held his hand up in front of him. “Don’t attack me Justin, I’m just saying…”
“What you’re ‘just saying’ is pissing me off. There is no comparison going on between Carly and Britney and there never will be.”
JC slid forward on the stool and folded his arms. “That’s where you’re wrong Justin. Britney is very big in the pop world right now, and whenever a female pop artist comes out they’re automatically going to be compared to Britney. The fact that you’re the one managing Carly will only add fuel to the fire. You should be prepared for that and expect it by now.”
“Carly is nothing like Britney. She’s kind hearted, sweet, caring, and…well she’s…talented.”
The four guys inhaled sharply with shock.
Chris was a little more dramatic than the others were. “Ouch! Damn man go for the heart. I knew things between you and Britney didn’t end well, but DAMN!”
Justin stepped away from them and went to the other wall to lean against it. “I don’t want to talk about Britney and what may or may not have happened. That story is old news and I’ll admit it was a mistake to ever try anything in that direction. All of you warned me, even Maitlyn warned me, but I didn’t listen. Well I’m going to listen to myself this time and go for it. I believe in Carly’s potential that much guys.”
Joey just couldn’t let it go. He always wondered about Justin and his fascination with Britney. He also wondered why Justin denied his feelings for her. “You better be careful man. There’s nothing worse than having two girls fight over you. Believe me I know.”
Justin pushed away from the wall and walked over to the door. “You just don’t know how to let go of things. Britney and I are not together and that’s because I wouldn’t allow it. Just like I won’t allow anything to happen with Carly. I need to get out of here for a little while.”
He opened the door and slammed it behind him. Carly and Maitlyn watched him in shocked silence as he stormed out of the room and down the hallway.
“Well today is turning out to be productive. They were in there all of twenty minutes without picking on someone.”
Carly stared at the door Justin had exited through and wondered if he was ok. He didn’t look like he was happy, and there was a look of sadness in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. “I’ll be right back Maitlyn. I need to…to go to the…um…bathroom.”
Maitlyn watched Carly follow Justin and smiled knowingly. No matter what Carly said, she could tell that Justin had gotten under her skin. She didn’t have any trouble believing this because Justin was a definite cutie in her opinion. In fact, if JC weren’t around she would probably go after the boy herself.
With her thoughts on Justin and his possible admirer, she stood up and walked into the recording room. It was time for her to become aware of the situation.
Carly looked all over the studio for Justin and couldn’t find him. She was trying so hard not to be obvious, but when she couldn’t find him after all this time she became completely concerned and totally obvious of her motives.
She opened doors and peeked inside but none of them held Justin. She was about to knock on the men’s room door when an idea popped into her head. She walked across the studio and opened the door that led to the courtyard that was centered in the middle of the building.
She stuck her head in the door and hesitantly opened it when she saw Justin sitting at a picnic table under one of the big oak trees. He was sitting there silently with his arms crossed and his head down. She didn’t think he was crying, but he looked upset about something.
She cautiously walked over to him and tried to think of something to say. She didn’t have to think for long because he spoke up after a few seconds.
“I know you’re standing behind me. Come around here and sit down if you want to. If not, then go inside and I’ll talk to you later.”
She stepped around the table and hesitantly slid her legs under the table. He still had his head down, rested on his arms, so she just stared at the curls on top of his head. They were blowing gently in the breeze and it was almost comical how the blowing curls were the only things moving on Justin besides the movement of his chest every few seconds to inhale.
“I’m not mad at you Carly.” His arms muffled his voice.
She looked at his arms while she talked. “I didn’t think you were. Are you ok?”
His head finally jerked up and his blue eyes rested on her. “I’m ok. The guys just brought up some things that I’d rather not talk about. I guess that’s the bad part of being really close to people. They think you want to talk about anything and everything. They feel that your life is an open book since that’s pretty much the way the world looks at it.”
Carly sympathized. She had never been in that situation, but she could imagine how he felt. “Have you ever talked…”
He was on a roll so he continued. “Now that I think about it, they are always wanting to know what goes on in my life. I love those guys like brothers, but sometimes you just want to keep things to yourself. Know what I mean?”
She opened her mouth to answer him, but he didn’t give her the chance.
“I know they’re only trying to help me and I know they’re concerned but DAMN! When I don’t want to talk about something, I don’t want to talk about it.”
She opened her mouth again to say something but didn’t get the chance to say anything.
“Maybe I would understand it a little better if I had a brother close to my age. Well…Chris doesn’t have a brother, but he does have some really nosey sisters. Have you ever met his sisters? Damn those girls are nosey. But anyway, sometimes I feel I just need to keep at least a FEW things to myself. They’re my secrets you know what I mean? I just need to have ONE thing that only I know something about. We all deserve that. Right Carly?”
She didn’t even try to answer him. She rested her elbow on the table, placed her chin in her hand, and nodded her head.
He looked at her and waited for her to say something. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
She sat up straight and raised her eyebrows. “Oh! Am I allowed to say something now?”
He looked at her seriously for a moment before a grin spread across his face. “I kind of rambled on and on for a minute there didn’t I?”
She looked at her watched before turning back to him. “Several minutes actually. But who is counting?”
His grin grew bigger and he chuckled. “Thanks for that Carly. Thanks for making me smile. I appreciate it.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
His penetrating blue gaze looked over her face tenderly for a moment before he responded. “You really have a kind heart, don’t you Carly.”
The way he was looking at her made her nervous. The question alone would make her nervous, but the question added in with the look was nerve wracking. “I um…I just try to teach…I mean treat people the way I want to be treated. You know, try to be the type of friend that I want to have.”
He nodded slowly and his eyes remained on her. “That theory hasn’t really been working out for you has it?”
Her eyes widened a little when she didn’t know how to take that statement. She couldn’t tell if he was being rude and cutting at her, or if he was just making a point. Either way she understood what he was saying. And he was right.
He stood up and held out his hand for her. “That’s about to change Carly. It’s all about to change.”
“I know I told you that we would look through song tomorrow, but now is as good a time as any. There are thousands and thousands to look through so starting today might be a good idea.”
Carly picked up the pace of her walking to keep up with Justin. His stride was so much bigger than hers because of his long legs, and he didn’t even realize how hard it was for her to keep up with him as he strolled down the hallways of the building.
She was almost out of breath with the pace. “I thought you were recording all day today.”
He grabbed her hand and ushered her into the room. “Change of plans. They can handle things while I’m gone. Besides, they’re working on the background crap right now anyway. Ah…here we are.”
When the light flipped on Carly looked around the spacious room and saw nothing but filing cabinets. “Wow.”
Justin grinned evilly and looked down at her with his hand still on the light switch. “Would you like me to turn off the light so you can hunt for the switch? Last time you found it, it was interesting.”
She felt a blush climb into her cheeks. “Not for me. Where are we Justin?”
“We are in the writing room my dear Carly. This is where the studio stores all the songs people have written and sent in. This is also where songs are held from famous people who have written songs, but we haven’t used them yet. So these cabinets contain future chart toppers."
Carly allowed her gaze to roam around the entire room.
There must be millions of songs in these cabinets. All of them are words from someone’s heart, and express their feelings at the time. That’s exactly what it is, a room full of dreams and of people’s heart.
“Carly? Are you ok?”
She broke out of her daydream and smiled. “Yeah I’m ok. This is just so amazing.”
He smiled brightly and walked farther into the room. “Don’t get too starstruck. You need to pick just one song out of this huge pile and that’s like finding a needle in a haystack. We need to find something that will fit your voice and your style, and that’s the hard part. Also, these are Transcon Studios property and since you’re not a Transcon artist we’re actually not supposed to be in here, but I can keep a secret if you can.”
She nodded and walked up to the first filing cabinet. “Do I just open these up and start reading?”
He walked over and opened the drawer in front of her. “Go for it. The sooner we figure out what song you’re going to sing, the sooner we make the demo tape, and the sooner we get busy on the fun stuff.”
They dug through the stacks of lyrics and Carly was shocked by what all she found. She found songs that were absolutely beautiful and passionate, and then she found songs that the author never should have wasted pencil lead or paper on.
Justin pulled out a stack and sat down on the floor next to Carly with them. “Found anything interesting yet?”
She shook her head and sighed. “Not yet. I’ve found Hanson, some Tom Jones stuff, maybe a little Barry Manilow, and even a little Marilyn Manson, but nothing that’s Carly Hawkins.”
A little while later Justin held up a piece of paper and smiled. “I think we might have something here. Take a look at this.”
Carly read over the carefully written lyrics and swallowed loudly. “Um…I don’t really think I can sing those words. Am I legally allowed to sing lyrics that suggest…well…THAT?”
He laughed at her innocence. It really was a treat for him to spend time with a girl like her. A girl who saw him as a person, someone she could criticize and be honest with, and not a superstar. “Carly, a lot of songs nowadays talk about THAT as you put it, but nobody reads into it. Look at our song Giddy Up. Do you honestly think that song is about horseback riding?”
She looked at him and her eyes widened when she realized what he was saying. “I know what that song is about, but that’s you singing it and not me. I don’t think I could go up on stage and sing a song that’s all about s…THAT.”
He leaned back on his arms and realized he was thoroughly enjoying this. Baiting her was just too much fun. “Come on Carly, just look at these words. ‘I wanna touch you slow, you must know how it feels when my body…”
She covered her ears with her hands and hummed to drown his singing out.
He put the paper down and laughed until his sides hurt. “You are too funny Carly. And nice humming. You’re right on key.”
She lowered her arms and continued to look through the stacks of papers. “Are we looking for a slow song or fast one?”
His eyebrows merged as he concentrated on the paper in front of him. “Yes.”
It was very funny to look at the songs people had written and actually sent into a studio for possible recording. If that was the best they could do, Carly pitied them. She held up an especially funny one and Justin leaned closer to her to look at it. “Hmm…reminds me of Britney Spears’ …Baby One More Time. What’s the deal with people singing about domestic violence?”
She saw Justin’s face fall the moment she mentioned Britney Spears. “You’re not going to be Britney Spears, and you’re also not going to sing songs like hers.”
Carly saw right away that Britney was not a good topic around Justin and she wondered about it. She was concerned, but she also knew it was none of her business. “Well…I don’t like this song anyway.” She looked pleadingly over at him. “Justin I think I could write a better song than these. Can I please see what I can come up with?”
He continued to concentrate on the paper in front of him. “I think we need to stick with what we have here for right now Carly. Don’t get too excited about all this yet. We don’t even have a demo tape.”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she nodded. “Ok Justin. Whatever you say.”
A few seconds later he held up a paper. “I think we have a winner here. It could be a slow song or a fast paced one. I think I would rather have a faster paced song for you to start out with because then you could dance to it. Dancing always catches everyone’s eye.”
She looked nervously at him and raised an eyebrow. “Did you say dancing?”
“I can’t hook you up with choreographers until you’re signed, so I’ll show you a few dance moves and we can come up with something to go along with the song. How does that sound?”
Her expression didn’t change. “Did you say dancing?”
He couldn’t stop his grin from flashing. “Don’t give me that scared look. I’ll help you out and after some practice it will be easy. We’re just talking about choreographing one song for right now. Actually, you should be worried about the singing and not the dancing. The hardest part will be recording the song and getting that right.”
He handed her the piece of paper and she looked at the words closely. It wasn’t the most poetically written piece she had ever seen, but there was definitely something about it. She was curious what kind of music would go along with it.
“I don’t see anything wrong with it. There are a few words that I’m leery of, but overall it’s ok. But I think I like this song better.” She pulled out a piece of paper that was beside her and started to read. “Ode To My Pickle Jar.”
Justin busted out laughing and grabbed the paper from her. “You’ve got to be kidding me. For the love of God don’t let Joey see this. Let’s burn it now. Damn you’re serious; it really does say Ode To My Pickle Jar. What kind of wacko writes songs like this?”
They looked at each other and started giggling. Carly couldn’t get his confused and amazed expression out of her head. Every time she thought about it she would laugh even harder.
Justin turned the page over and wiped the tears from his eyes. “I swear to God I wouldn’t be amazed if it said the author was Joey Fatone. Maybe it’s back here.”
He laughed even harder when he thought about his words. His laughter was so contagious and so full of life that it made her laugh right along with him. She finally reached up and pushed his shoulder playfully. “Would you stop? You’re going to make me throw up…or pee in my pants.”
He giggled a little bit longer and then smiled over at her. “Now that would be a sight. I’m not sure I’ve made a girl pee her pants before. Well, not that I know of. Faint, yes. Cry, yes. Get a headache, yes. But urinating is a whole new ballgame for me. Come on Carly, make my life complete.”
She covered her mouth as she giggled. “You are a sick man Justin.”
He moved his hands around and dance for a little bit before looking at her with a bright smile on his face. "You know what? That’s the first time you’ve touched me.”
She immediately stopped laughing. “What?”
“That’s the first time you’ve reached out to touch me without me asking you to first. Remember? When you pushed my shoulder?”
He could actually see the nervousness and uncomfort slide over her. It was like a wave that covered her entire body. “I didn’t plan it, it just sort of happened.”
He held up a hand to stop her apology. “I wasn’t asking for you to apologize Carly, I just think it shows that you’re growing to be more comfortable around me. I’m glad because we’re…”
His sentence was stopped when a knock sounded at the door. A few seconds later JC’s head popped around the door. “Hey you two…woah…did a bomb explode in here? We’re about to eat a little something in the cafeteria and wanted to know if you were over your pout enough to join us Justin. Oh…and you are always welcome Carly.”
Justin looked over at Carly and saw that she was still a little red. “We can clean this up later Carly. Let’s go get something to eat.”
She jumped up and ran out of the room to wash her hands, and he mentally cursed himself for ruining such a perfect moment with such an idiotic statement.
“I really need to watch my big mouth around her. Sometimes I wonder what the hell goes on inside my stupid head. Don’t you dare answer that JC.”
The afternoon lunch/dinner was some deli made sandwiches and goodies that were donated by area businesses. Carly was amazed again by all the food that was brought by for these guys who were wealthy enough to buy the whole restaurant, much less a few sandwiches.
She was putting a sandwich on her plate when Lance came up beside her. “How are you doing Carly? I want to thank you for talking to Justin after our little scene. Sometimes Joey and Chris don’t know when to stop picking on him. He can loose it every now and then, but it’s all in fun. They haven’t realized yet that he’s bigger than they are now.”
She was confused. “I really didn’t do anything that a good friend and person wouldn’t do. No need to thank me. I’m sure you would have done the same if you wouldn’t have been tied up at the moment.”
Lance smiled at her and realized what Justin was talking about. Carly really was a very intriguing person. She was sweet and honest to a fault. “We’re glad to have you around. None of us have many friends that aren’t a part of show business so it’s always good to talk to ‘normal’ people who treat us like we’re normal too. It’s very rare to have a female who treats us that way.”
Carly nodded her head. “Well I don’t see you all as superstars because I’ve only known you as regular people. That’s the only way I know how to treat you.”
When she turned to face him he grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her towards the table. “No offense, but I’ve seen what kind of destruction you cause with sandwiches so point that thing the other way please.”
Carly couldn’t help laughing at his sarcasm as she walked away. Lance was right behind her and they walked over to the table where JC, Maitlyn, Joey, and Chris were already seated. Justin was still loading his plate and deciding which things he wanted and what he didn’t.
Lance pulled out her chair for her and she sat down between him and Chris. “Thanks for inviting me JC. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem whatsoever.”
Joey winked at her and took a bite of his sandwich. “So how did the song hunting go?”
She put her napkin in her lap and arranged her plate and drink before responding. “Actually it went…it went…” Her words were interrupted by Justin putting his plate on the table and clanging his silverware. “ We looked through a bunch of songs and found…found…” Now his chair was clanging loudly as he tried to get it unhooked from in between Maitlyn and Joey. “We found a couple that held promise and there were…there were…” Justin dropped the chair with a loud crash and continued to pull on it.
Maitlyn grabbed him by the arm and yanked him down into the chair so he would shut up. He almost fell onto the floor in the process.
Maitlyn gave him a glance of warning before looking back at Carly. “You were saying? Before you were RUDELY interrupted by Mr. Finesse over here.”
Carly smiled at Justin’s look. He looked like he had been caught with his hands in the cookie jar. “There were a few good ones, and a lot of bad.”
Lance turned to Justin who was now eating silently. “Which songs did you decide on?”
Justin chewed and swallowed. “We only picked out one for right now because we need to make her demo tape. A few interesting ones were set aside for possible future use.”
Carly looked at Justin’s plate and couldn’t believe that one person was going to eat all that food. Maitlyn caught her wide-eyed look and laughed. “You should see him at Thanksgiving. His mom literally has to have two turkeys.”
Chris smiled at Justin evilly. “Two turkeys. Explains a lot huh Curly?”
Justin gave Chris a bored look and sucked air through his front teeth to get a piece of ham out from between them. “Ha.”
Joey leaned forward and spoke up to Carly. “Did you happen to read that song Applesauce? Is that a phat song or WHAT?”
Everyone at the table groaned and Carly’s eyes widened when she remembered the song very clearly. “Yeah…we saw that one. I think we did. Maybe we didn’t. Did we see that song Justin?”
He nodded his head and rolled his eyes. “I think you looked at it. That song should have been burned years ago. Joey tried to talk us into singing it but it didn’t happen.”
JC wiped his mouth on a napkin and mumbled under his breath. “And it won’t happen in my lifetime.”
Joey waved his hand at them and turned back to Carly. “What about that song Deere John. That one is cool too huh?”
Carly stared at him for a moment and realized that he was totally serious. He wasn’t just playing a joke and pretending to sound interested, he really liked these songs. It was too scary to comprehend. “That was the one about a tractor right?”
Carly noticed everyone taking a big bite of something so they wouldn’t have to say anything. Joey looked at her anxiously and she saw she would get no help out of anyone, so she answered him. “Yeah I saw that one. Country music isn’t really my favorite.”
Joey shook his head and got even more agitated. “Oh man! Justin didn’t tell you? That’s not a country song at all Carly. It’s actually an R&B song. That’s what’s so cool about it!”
Her jaw dropped when she heard that. “That certainly sounds like something Joey. Really something.”
She looked over at Maitlyn and saw her stuff a potato chip into JC’s mouth to keep him from saying anything.
Justin decided the topic needed to be changed so he interrupted. “We’re not really sure what her style is yet, but I know we don’t want her to die out after the first single. Don’t worry though, we’ll find your niche Carly.”
She was shocked by the sincerity and by the confidence in his voice. He acted like he knew exactly what was going to happen, and he was certain it was going to be a success. She just wished she could have as much confidence about all this as he did. In her heart, she knew this wasn’t going to work out.
It was dark by the time Justin, Carly and the rest of the group left the studio. They had completely organized the first single of the album and Monday would be devoted to recording it. Tomorrow was all about practicing for their summer tour, which was coming up quickly.
Justin turned on the radio in his car, slouched by pushing his hip out, and sighed loudly. “God I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”
She watched him run a hand over his face and rub his eyes. “Thank you for bringing me today Justin. I learned a lot about the music business. It was great hearing you guys sing live, and being included in the group.”
He yawned and nodded. “It was truly my pleasure Carly.”
She wouldn’t let him go without making him see how much she appreciated today. “The other guys are really great.”
He smiled and watched the road closely. “They’re something all right. I haven’t quite figured out what yet, but they’re something.”
She could tell he was tired and needed some rest. “It was nice to be around a group of people and totally be myself.”
He looked at her from across the car and caught on to what she was saying. “You should be yourself all the time Carly, not just around people you want to impress. You’re a beautiful person and I wish you would see that for yourself. Those four guys back there hate fake people more than anything, and they can spot those people from a mile away. And as for Maitlyn, well people don’t have a chance in hell around her unless they have genuine intentions. That should tell you SOMETHING Carly.”
He pulled up in front of Adrienne’s house and turned off the engine. It was amazing how peaceful it was to just sit in the darkness with no screaming crowds or demands. “Do you want to get started tomorrow? We can work on some of the musical arrangements and that kind of stuff. Get a feel of what the song will sound like.”
She was amazed as well. His voice sounded so amazing in the complete silence of the car. “Justin I need to ask you something important. Please don’t lie to me.”
He turned in his seat and stared directly at her. “What is it?”
She took a few deep breaths for courage. “Do you honestly believe this will work. Do you think I can do this? Do you...how do I say this without sounding like an idiot? Do you believe in me Justin?”
Justin stared at her profile and licked his dry lips. That was the question of the century and he wasn’t sure exactly how to answer it. “I believe you are a special person Carly, and you have so much potential that you haven’t tapped into. I think you can do this. No wait, I know you can do this. I won’t let you fail.”
She turned her head to look him in the eyes. She didn’t see any insincerity in them and that helped her believe in his confident words. “Ok. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He watched her get out of the car, walk up to the house, and close the door behind her. Only then did he exhale loudly and speak the words he wanted to say so desperately. “I can’t allow you to fail Carly. For either of our sake.”