"Well, what the hell did you expect man? Thanks to your bullshit, I was out of a job. I had to find something." Trace shrugs and takes a long gulp of his beer.     

"Ever think maybe I'd go back to work eventually?"    

"Sure. But, you and I both know it ain't happening anytime soon. Madison really needs the extra help, I've got the experience, and we're already cool. It's the logical thing to do."    

"You just want to hang all over Chelsea's ass."    

"Nah, that ship has sailed man." He shakes his head and chuckles. "You've been way too wrapped up in all this other shit to know that though."    

I'm sure that probably sounds like a dig at me, but I know that's not how he meant it. He's simply stating a fact.    

Madison and I have been so caught up dealing with our own drama, we haven't had much time for anyone but ourselves. It's not selfish or anything, we've just had a lot of our own shit to deal with.     

Needless to say, I'm not all that surprised that the Trace/Chelsea thing didn't pan out. Chelsea's goal was to childishly get back at Madison, maybe she finally realized that she was just being a fucking moron, and dropped the act.     

"What happened?"    

"Nothing really." He shrugs. "I just kind of realized I'm not that into her, ya know? Like, she's cool as shit and I love hanging out with her, but we couldn't really get into the couple thing. We're still pretty tight though, and she's a big part of the reason I took that job. There's no way she could handle everything on her own."    

I haven't said anything to him, but I really see no point in Madison having two assistants. Sure, she's out a manager, but it's not like she's working. Why does she need to pay two people to do nothing?    

But, whatever. All any of us can do is sit back and hope the idiots at the label know what they're doing.    

Which, based on experience, I'm inclined to think they don't. But, I've got way more important shit to worry about.    

I never really too the time to sit back and think about how my decision to walk away from my career would affect the people around me. I know, Madison told me as much, but I think I was still too busy riding the high of telling Johnny to fuck off.     

I mean, I'm not mad at Trace for taking the job. I just wish he would have talked to me about it first. He's still technically my employee and an advance warning would have been nice. But, it's not like he's going across the country or anything. He'll still be here all the time. The only real change is that he'll be running Madison's errands rather than mine.    

So, I guess when you get right down to it, it's kind of a non-issue.     

My phone vibrates on the glass table and I grab it quickly, smiling when "One new message from: Madison" appears on the screen. Yes, I'm one of those whipped ass guys who smiles just seeing his girl's name flash on his phone. Sue me.    

"I'm on my way. Get rid of Trace."    

Oh hell yeah!    

I'm sure I don't have to tell you what that means. But, I'm going to anyway, because I'm a guy and we thoroughly enjoy bragging about this shit.    

To put it simply, Ms. Fox is coming home to get a piece of the Timberlake.    

"You gotta go man."    

"Huh?"    

"Madison's on her way. You gotta go."

"Since when am I not allowed in the house when Madison's here?" Trace rolls his eyes and doesn't budge an inch.    

Clearly, subtly is lost on my short friend.    

"Since I haven't gotten laid in two weeks. Now, get the fuck out..... please."    

"Fine, fine. I'm going." He mutters and rises from his seat. "I'll remember this shit though. Ditching your boy for a chick just ain't cool."    

"Yeah, right." I give him a dismissive wave and chuckle as he heads out the back door.    

I love him, but he's a major pain in the ass sometimes.    

10 minutes later, Madison strolls into the house and tosses her things down on the table in the hallway.        

I know a lot of guys get kinda freaked out when a chick makes herself at home in their personal space, but I kind of like it. Madison's first round of living here wasn't exactly smooth sailing, so it's kind of nice to see it working this time.    

I'm hoping that soon enough, I can convince her to get rid of that damn apartment and move back here full time.    

"Hey." She smiles brightly and heads for the kitchen.    

"Trace is gone."

"Oh? Good. I wanted to-"    

In a split second, my mouth is on hers and I can't help but smile when I feel her relax against me. My hands travel down her side to the hem of her shirt and that's when she suddenly breaks our contact.    

"Justin, get off." She pushes me away and takes a few steps back.        

What the hell?    

"That's what I was trying to do sweetheart." I smirk and advance toward her again, but the deep frown settling on her face stops me dead in my tracks.    

"That wasn't even close to being funny."    

"Umm... ok." I nod and scratch the back of my neck.    

Is it wrong that I'm totally confused here? Normally, she thinks shit like that is hilarious.    

"What the hell did you want me to get rid of Trace for?"    

"I wanted to talk." She says simply, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.    

Ya know, I'm quickly realizing that she and Trace have quite a bit in common. I love her, but Jesus Christ is she a pain in my ass.    

"Alright, talk so we can get to the fun stuff."    

"Not funny either." She sighs and rolls her eyes. "Can you be serious for five damn minutes? This shit is important."    

"Fine, I'm all ears."    

"Good. Now, let me get through this before you freak out and start acting like an idiot, ok?" I nod in response and she takes a deep breath before plopping down at the table. "Remember when the label called me a few days ago? Well... they finally decided what to do with me."    

This can go a couple of different ways, both of which have their good and bad points.    If they've decided to put all things Madison Fox on the back burner, the bright side is that she'll be here with me constantly. But, I know she's miserable when she isn't working and her bad moods usually get taken out on me.    

If they've decided to send her back to work, she'll be ecstatic, but she'll also be leaving me behind.    

I'm really not sure which one I'd like to see happen.    

Do I want her to be happy? Yes. Do I want her a thousand miles away? Hell no.    

"Well, I'm going back to work."    

I nod slowly, doing my best to hide exactly what I'm feeling. I should have known this would happen at some point, but that doesn't make it suck any less.    

"Monday, I'm meeting with the label to-"    

"Monday? Shit, Madison! That's two days away. When the hell were you gonna tell me?" So much for that letting her get through it stuff, huh? 

"I'm telling you now." She shrugs. "I just found out two days ago Justin. I didn't really have a lot of time."    

"Yeah, but... fuck!" I shake my head sadly and roll my eyes. "I'm glad you get to work again, but this just.... sucks."    

"I know, but you can come out whenever you want. It'll be fine."    

I sure as hell hope she's right. I've seen what touring and the bullshit that comes along with it can do to a relationship, and I don't want that happening to Madison and I. Maybe the fact that I know what to expect is something I can use to my advantage.    

"So, I guess this is why you're taking Trace?"    

"Yeah. But, I swear I didn't have anything to do with that."

"It's fine. It's not like I need him anymore." I shrug. That sounded a little more resentful than I intended, but...whatever.    

"Justin... you could go back in a heartbeat. Talk to Johnny, tell him you made a mistake."    

"I'm fine. The time off is gonna be good for me. I've got some stuff I'd like to do eventually anyway, so it's cool. Maybe I'll follow in Jc's footsteps, minus the whole fucking over my client thing."    

"Funny you should mention that..." She forces a laugh and I feel my shoulders tense immediately.    

I know I'm the one who brought it up, but she knows I hate talking about this shit. All it does is piss me off and I'm so damn tired of being mad all the time. I really just want to put the whole thing behind me and forget about it.    

"I read the book." She blurts out quickly and I feel the heat rise in my cheeks.    

Deep down, I knew she'd read it. She's too damn nosey not to. But, a small part of me hoped she'd stick to the promise we made each other. We both swore we wouldn't read it. We agreed that it didn't matter what was in there, that it wouldn't change anything.    

As much as I hate to say it, I think I give her a little too much credit sometimes. It doesn't matter what she says or how many promises she makes, Madison is always going to do whatever the hell she wants.    

"It really isn't what we thought it was. Justin... he was trying to help."    

And here is yet another reason I didn't want her reading it. I fucking knew she'd buy into whatever bullshit Jc put in there.     

She's so damn naive when it comes to people. Even when they screw her over, she still wants to believe they had her best interest in mind, or that they're trying to help her.    

You'd think she would have learned by now, but apparently that skull of hers is much thicker than I thought.    

"Read it Justin." She pleads, but she's wasting her time.     

I made my mind up about Jc Chasez awhile ago and I'm not changing it.    

"I talked to him and-"    

"You fucking talked to him?" I bellow, my cool and calm demeanor quickly disappearing.    

I can handle her going back to work and taking my PA. I can even deal with her reading that damn book and thinking it was intended to help. But talking to Jc? I don't fucking think so.    

"Yeah, after I read it I-"    

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you not remember the bullshit we've been through the last two months? He fucking betrayed you Madison! I had to walk away from my God damn career because of him! He fucked us, ok? He 100 percent fucked us, and you go to talk to him? Jesus Christ Madison! We could have been ruined because of  his bullshit!"    

"Well... you better get over that shit real quick Justin. He's coming back as my manager."    

Oh my fucking God.    

Is she stupid?     

I mean seriously, has she completely lost her fuckin mind?    

She's just asking to be set up again. And, does she not understand that this is a total slap in the face to me?    

Thanks to Jc and his precious fucking book, Johnny forced me to choose between Madison and my career. I chose her, and this is how she fucking repays me? By wiping the slate clean with the guy who's responsible for every shitty thing we've gone through this past year?    

I do not fucking know this woman anymore.    

The Madison I know would have backed me up. She would have been on my side. It was supposed to be the two of us against the fuckin world.... not her leaving me in the dust.    

"How could you do this? You can't really be this stupid."    

"I can't do this right now." She mutters before hopping out of her chair and heading for the door, with me hot on her heels.    

"That's right Madison... fucking run away from the problem just like you always do. Just once, I dare you to actually face something head on."    

"Oh don't even." She seethes as she whips around to face me. "You wanna talk to me about running away, when you're the God damn king? You ran away from your career because you couldn't stand the thought of your perfect little image being tarnished! I mean, God forbid somebody finds out that you aren't fucking perfect!"    

"That's bullshit! I did that for you and you fucking know it!"    

"Well... maybe you should have taken your second option."    

I take a step back and swallow the lump in my throat. I feel like she just punched me in the gut or something. Of all the things she could have said or done, that was probably the most unexpected and hurtful.    

I chose her, with no hesitation.    

I can't even fathom her thinking I made the wrong decision.    

"You... you think... you think I should have dumped you?"    

"Maybe." She shrugs. "Because quitting your career sure as hell doesn't make sense. Nobody chooses a woman over what you had Justin.... unless they're afraid of something and the woman is the easy way out. You were so scared that the truth would hurt you, so you did the only thing you knew how to. You took the easy way out, and you ran."    

"No....no. You're wrong."    

"Ya know... I really don't think I am." She shakes her head and laughs bitterly. "I gotta go." She mumbles before making her way to the door.    

And for what feels like the millionth time, I'm left to watch her leave, not entirely sure I'll ever see her again.    

As horrible as it sounds, there's a very small part of me that hopes I don't.